ReRoute

Inspiration

We started thinking about what happens after someone gets referred to a service. For homeless and at-risk youth, getting a referral doesn't always mean getting help. A shelter might be full, a provider may stop accepting referrals, or something can change at the last minute. When that happens, people often have to start over, which wastes valuable time. We wanted to build something that could handle those situations automatically instead of leaving navigators to redo the entire process.

What We Built

We built ReRoute, a referral system that helps navigators create a service plan for homeless and at-risk youth. It also prepares backup options ahead of time, so if a referral falls through or a provider becomes unavailable, the system can quickly suggest the next best option instead of starting from scratch. The goal is to make the referral process more reliable and reduce delays in getting people connected to services.

How We Built It

We built ReRoute as a web application using modern frontend and backend technologies. The system takes information about a user's needs, creates a personalized service plan, and keeps track of backup providers. If something changes, it automatically updates the plan and recommends another provider. We also used AI tools during development to help us prototype features, speed up coding, and refine the user experience.

Challenges We Faced

The biggest challenge was figuring out how to make the referral process flexible. In the real world, provider availability changes all the time, so we had to design a system that could react without forcing everything to be rebuilt. We also wanted to keep the interface simple enough that navigators could use it quickly, even while handling complex situations behind the scenes.

What We Learned

Working on ReRoute taught us a lot about designing software for real-world problems. We learned that reliability is just as important as adding new features. We also got more experience building full-stack applications, thinking through different user scenarios, and working together to turn an idea into a working prototype in a short amount of time.